The Associated Students of the University of Arizona recently implemented Turbo Vote, an aspect to its semester-long campaign intended to engage UA students in voting in the upcoming elections and make registration an easier process.
This attempt to make registration easier essentially walks the person registering through the general form — but online, instead of with paper and pen. The information is then sent to the local election office for the individual.
ASUA hosted a Gubernatorial forum on Sunday, which was the first event to start off “Our Voice, Our Vote,” a campaign aiming to educate students at the UA about the upcoming elections.
ASUA is working to make sure that students are registered to vote for the upcoming governor for Arizona. ASUA President Issac Ortega gave an overview of the campaign.
“‘Our Voice, Our Vote’ is a semester-long campaign focusing on voter registration, education and mobilization,” Ortega said. “Launching in mid-September, this is a comprehensive campaign with a goal of enhancing the student body’s involvement in the midterm elections.”
ASUA Sen. Joe Zanoni explained that Turbo Vote is helpful because it allows students to vote at their local polling place, which now includes the ASUA office for Pima County voters or by mail-in ballot; most importantly, it allows students to register online.
“That’s why a lot of millennials aren’t registered to vote,” Zanoni said, “because they are taken aback by the whole voter registration form.”
Turbo Vote makes sure students do not forget about the upcoming elections. The system can send text and email reminders to people who register through it.
Turbo Vote also includes a feature that makes it easier for the students living on campus who aren’t sure about their addresses.
“There is a drop-down menu,” Zanoni said. “So, you can click on whatever dorm you are in [and] it will automatically fill in the address, and then all you have to do is put in your room number.”
Several UA students, such as Joanna Mabine, a veterinary sciences sophomore, said they are excited to get registered and participate in voting in the election.
“I think registering to vote is great, and everyone should do it,” Mabine said. “I think now that I live here, I can vote for these things.”
ASUA and community partners will be located around campus until Oct. 5, using Turbo Vote to register students. If students can’t find ASUA, they can drop by its office on the third floor of the Student Union Memorial Center or find another event focused on registering students.
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